Infrastructure investment to build drought resilience in Brazil
Categories: Action Line 2: Evidence-based policy strategy and capacity building, Climate-informed health programmes, Drought
Country: Brazil
Organizations: World Bank
The intervention
The First Water Cisterns (FWC) programme, part of Brazil’s One Million Cisterns Program (P1MC) launched in 2003, marked a shift from emergency drought relief to sustainable water security in the semi-arid northeast. Led by civil society and supported by government agencies, the program installed 1 million household cisterns by 2014, each collecting up to 16,000 liters of rainwater for domestic use during the eight-month dry season. Families received training in water treatment and maintenance. Complementary components included water for production, school cisterns, and seed banks - ensuring climate-resilient livelihoods and food security for rural communities in one of Brazil’s most drought-prone regions.
Success factors
The FWC program significantly improved water access, health, education, and gender equality. Households with cisterns reported a 73% reduction in diarrhea cases and 7.5% higher school attendance. Registering cisterns in women’s names empowered them economically, freeing time for farming and community activities while strengthening food security. The intervention also increased employment and wages by 14% and 7.5%, respectively, reducing household dependency on political patronage. The programme’s success stemmed from its community-driven approach, low-cost scalable technology, and integration of capacity building and social mobilisation, which built local ownership and resilience across drought-prone municipalities.
Recommendations
Replication should prioritise decentralised, low-cost technologies that enhance household and community water security while reducing reliance on emergency relief. Incorporating locally appropriate materials and ensuring beneficiary training and engagement are critical for sustained adoption. Addressing “last-mile” challenges - such as literacy barriers and low compliance - through inclusive communication and ongoing monitoring will extend program reach. Integrating FWC-like interventions into broader climate adaptation policies can multiply socioeconomic benefits, improving gender equity, employment, and public health. Finally, scaling requires cross-sector collaboration and continuous evaluation to ensure climate resilience efforts are both technically sound and socially transformative.
Key resources
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